At
approximately 7 o'clock on a beautiful Sunday morning, a 236-foot
high building called a head house came tumbling down at the
Port of Galveston. The implosion not only leveled the second
tallest building on Galveston Island, but also removed the
final vestiges of a 1930s-era grain elevator complex, making
way for expansion of the Port's cruise operations.
"This
demolition is a major step forward in the realization of our
$30 million cruise terminal renovation plans. The grain elevator
has been non-operational since 1998 and was located in a prime
area to support the expansion needed to service the Port's
amazing growth in cruise operations," said Port Director
Steven M. Cernak.
Overseeing
the demolition activities since work began in June of this
year, general contractor and construction manager CH2M HILL
brought in an experienced management team to coordinate the
numerous challenges facing the project. Among the issues facing
the team were removal and abatement of nearly 500 windows
containing asbestos and a schedule that required completion
prior to the end of September. Tropical storms, hurricanes
and normal hot, humid weather contributed to minor delays
and obstacles that had to be overcome.
Subcontractor
J.T.B. Services, Houston, managed the implosion work, performed
by NADC-member Dykon Explosive Demolition, and other demolition
services. Vibration monitoring and related engineering services
were performed by NADC-member Protec Documentation Services.
This is the second implosion on Galveston Island for J.T.B.
On January 1, 1999, J.T.B. imploded Galveston's Buccaneer
Hotel at the corner of Seawall and 23rd Street. A park and
expanded retirement community facility now occupy that space.
In addition
to work on the demolition, Denver-based CH2M HILL is providing
design and construction services at the port's cruise terminal.
The work includes major renovations to the interior of Terminal
1 and its dock area. CH2M HILL also installed a $2 million
rolling bridge to allow cruise ship passengers to board through
an enclosed passageway, similar to an airline jetway.
In addition
to the head house, the demolition included three banks of
silos. The largest bank included 427 bins of reinforced concrete,
which provided a storage capacity of 5.2 million bushels of
grain. Each bin was 175 feet in height. The silos, as well
as old railcar unloading facilities and offices, were brought
down using the more traditional approach of wrecking balls
and earth moving equipment.
All concrete
from the demolition (estimated at 240 million pounds) will
be crushed on site and used as backfill for the demolished
silos and as fill for low-lying areas near the demolition
site. Overall, nearly 100 percent of the debris from the silo/elevator
complex, including more than 5,000 tons of reinforcing steel,
will be recycled.
When
it was built, the 6-million bushel grain elevator was the
largest port elevator in the United States. It was designed
by Horner & Wyatt, Kansas City consulting engineers, and
constructed by Jones-Hettelsater Construction Company, also
of Kansas City. The elevator was capable of loading grain
into boats at the rate of 200,000 bushels an hour. In 1951,
the elevator's tonnage helped Galveston set a national record
for exports from a single port.
